Sooner or Later
by Alessa Glass
Summary: Chapter four is a very important author's note! Please make sure to read it!
1. Clinic

Author's Note: Title subject to change. I'll update when you comment, mmkay?

Disclaimer: I own basically nothing in this story. Except the plot and a few characters. But House is not mine.

**Sooner or Later**

**1. Clinic**

Izzy seated herself in the seat nearest the door, just in case she felt the need to make a quick escape. She bounced her leg rapidly, the way she always did when she was irritated and nervous.

She began to wish she hadn't come the clinic. All she had was a cold, but being the hypochondriac she was, Izzy had come anyway.

The cold medicine was beginning to work its magic. The girl curled in to a comfortable position and tried to stay awake. 'Genius, Izzy,' she told herself, sitting up. 'Take the nighttime stuff when you're already sleep deprived and then get comfortable.'

A lethargic-looking man leaning on a cane called out her name. He couldn't possibly be a doctor, Izzy thought. But she stood and followed him to an exam room anyway.

"So what's wrong with you?" House drawled as he closed the door.

His unprofessional manner stuck Izzy, and she had to think for a second just what was wrong with her. Finally, she was able to speak. "I've had this cold for a couple of weeks."

"That all?" he asked in a bored tone.

"I can sleep," she added. "And I keep having these weird chest pains and…"

"What kind of chest pains?" House asked, suddenly interested.

"Like tightening. And it hurts," Izzy finished weakly. 'What the hell do you think?' she asked House in her head.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen. What does that-?"

"Let's see. Seventeen years old. Getting chest pains. Odd, yes."

"Oh, right." Izzy wished he hadn't told her that. Her paranoia started kicking in. She glanced at a poster of the human body on the wall and suddenly began naming the parts in her head in Spanish. Or at least trying. 'Three years of Spanish class and I still can't do it,' she thought. 'What a waste.'

"Hello?" House waved his cane in front of her face. "Focus on me. I'm the one that matters here. Now, anything else?"

"I, um. I don't know." She suddenly couldn't think of anything. 'That's something.' "I keep forgetting things."

House scribbled it down. He might be getting lucky, an actual patient. The only thing good that came out of clinic duty.

Izzy tried to thing of anything else. The doctor seemed to think everything was important. She was suddenly thinking about weeks ago. She often thought of the breakup and of Benji, but it was so odd at a time like this…

"I'll add easily distracted to the list," House said, rousing Izzy from her thoughts. "Interesting mix of symptoms. Thank you for making my day. Now faint or seize or something so I can check if they're all related."

"No problem," Izzy muttered as she slipped of the exam table and on to the floor, tears abruptly streaming from her eyes.

"I know you're a teenage girl, but there's no sense in getting all emotional, jeez." House finished his sentence, but they fell on deaf ears. Izzy had, as if obeying him, fainted.

"Wonderful, this power of mine," House said before calling for assistance.

**A/N: Shall I continue? Please comment. No flames, though. Remember: what goes around comes around. **


	2. Beginning the Puzzle

**A/N: **Sorry it took so long to update, I've been wickedly distracted this week. But here is the chapter. I apologize if it's a bit boring, but I have to establish a few things for the storyline. Read and review! Thanks to **Ali James **and **blurd-vision** for the first reviews!

**Disclaimer:** Don't own House. I just mess with the characters.

**Sooner or Later**

**2. Beginning the Puzzle**

The week had been void of interest for doctors Cameron, Chase, and Foreman. Surprisingly, there had been no new cases, no new mysteries.

So, the three of them sat in the conference news, idling over coffee and old cases, forcing conversation when the silence became too overwhelming.

In the middle of a conversation about their last patient, House meandered into the room. He threw a case file in the middle of the already-cluttered table and seated himself comfortably before beginning.

"A new one," House announced. "Isabel Milano, 17. Cold symptoms, chest pains, insomnia, distraction, short-term memory loss, and she collapsed." He shook his head. "They always collapse. Couldn't they change it up a bit and spontaneously combust or something?"

"The symptoms are completely unrelated," Cameron said, glancing at the file and ruffling her brow in confusion.

"Anyone else care to make an obvious comment or can we get on with diagnosing her?" House asked, rolling his eyes.

"Shouldn't we start by running tests to find out where the chest pain is coming from?" It sounded like a question, but Chase's underlying tone told the rest of them that it wasn't.

"And we'll need a history, too," Foreman added after noting that there was not one in the file.

"This is what you spent years in med school for?" House rolled his eyes. "Chase, the tests. Foreman, the history. Cameron… the short straw. You're stuck with me."

Cameron finally tore her eyes from the file. "But shouldn't I-?"

"Of course you should," House interrupted. "However, seeing as I am a truly irresistible creature, you're not going to do as you should."

Foreman and Chase exchanged a glance before exiting. Cameron stayed in her seat, trying not to make eye contact with House, which would be a dangerous move. Cameron could not let him see the things running through her head. But something told her he already knew.

"Anything in particular you want to dis-?"

House interrupted her for the second time by throwing a letter nonchalantly in front of her. "It's from a hospital in Seattle," House began. "They want to know about you and your work ethic. Planning to leave us here at good ole PPTH for the coffee-saturated city of Seattle?"

"I was considering it," Cameron admitted carefully.

"Obviously. But _why_ is the real question." House rose from his seat and hobbled toward her.

Cameron struggled for an excuse. "I want a change," she said finally. 'God, that was lame.'

"That explains it all!" House exclaimed in his usual sarcastic tone.

By now he was inches away from Cameron, and she attempted to move away without notice.

"But really," House continued, "what kind of change do you want? I can bring in some Native Americans to do a rain dance and petition for them to open a Starbucks on every corner, if that's what you want."

"It was something I was considering," Cameron repeated, this time with fire in her voice. She didn't appreciate his mockery. She rose from her seat and crossed toward the door, away from House.

"You tried this before, remember?" House was serious now. "You're not going to leave."

This caused Cameron to pause, back to him, hand on the door, head turned ever so slightly. It was a clichéd pose, but one House loved to see from Cameron.

"That's my choice," she informed him before calmly making her exit, leaving House to stare after her.

xxx

Chase and Foreman could hear the yelling even before they reached Izzy's room.

They entered the room to find a tall, dark-haired, middle-aged man arguing with a woman who looked exactly like Izzy, but aged about twenty years. They were seemed completely unaware of the fact that Izzy sat on the hospital bed behind them, holding her head in her hands.

"I don't care if she lives with you!" the woman was screaming. "You don't control her life!"

"You're blowing things out of proportion again!" the man countered. "You're the one that wants to control her life!"

The woman opened her mouth to spit out a reply, but Chase took advantage of the pause to jump in.

"Excuse me," he said loudly. "I don't know what's going on here, but this is not the place to argue."

The couple directed their eyes toward the Australian doctor and immediately regained composure.

"Thank you," Chase said. "Now, I assume you're Isabel's parents?"

"Izzy," the girl and her father corrected automatically.

"Right. If you could go with Dr. Foreman, we need to take Izzy's medical history."

The woman straightened her pinstriped skirt-suit and followed Foreman out of the room, taking with her a formal air.

The man extended his hand toward Chase. "I'm Austin Milano. I apologize for that scene."

"I'm Dr. Chase. And it's all right, I just have to ask you to make sure that it doesn't happen again."

"Don't worry about that," Mr. Milano replied. He, unlike his ex-wife, looked laidback in his blue jeans and Chicago Bears jersey. "I think we've had enough of that to last us a lifetime. Now, I assume you're my daughter's doctor?"

"One of them," Chase informed him. "I work for Dr. House. I'm one of three specialists on his team."

"I see. So, what's going on now?"

"We need to run some tests to see where her chest pains are coming from."

Mr. Milano turned to his daughter. "Chest pains? Iz, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry," Izzy replied calmly.

"Are these tests safe?" Mr. Milano turned back to Chase.

"Absolutely," Chase replied. "They're basic procedures." He handed Mr. Milano a clipboard. "Just sign this and we can get started right away."

The man signed the form then took his exit, leaving Izzy staring up at Chase from her bed.

"You handled them well," Izzy told him. "I can't get them to shut up that fast."

"It was nothing." Chase shrugged.

"You're probably right," Izzy agreed. "Mom was probably concerned about keeping up her 'I rule the universe' image. First impressions and all that, you know. And dad was probably worried that mom could use their fighting against him in court. Custody battle's are wicked bad." She gave a laugh.

Chase glanced at her in surprise. "That's funny?"

"When you're me, you try to find the humor in everything." Izzy rolled her eyes. "Pretty messed up, huh?"

Chase didn't reply; he was busy checking her pulse and blood pressure.

"Sorry, I didn't catch your name, Doctor…"

"Chase."

"Dr. Chase. Hmm. No. Do you mind if I call you Aussie?"

xxx

**Don't forget to review! The next chapter should be up this weekend.**


	3. Seizing

**A/N: **I've got a playlist in the works for this story. I'll be posting it on my profile or whatever you call it soon. For now, read, review and enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Well, I certainly don't own House, so don't sue me.

**Sooner or Later**

**3. Seizing**

Chase sighed in frustration as he finished looking over the results. "I can't find anything," he muttered.

"But there has to be something," Cameron insisted, taking a look for herself.

"There's nothing there." Chase glanced through the glass to Izzy. He had to wrong, but he didn't want to admit it.

"Well, you've got to be wrong," Cameron stated, as if reading his thoughts.

"Look at the results," he insisted. "There's nothing wrong with her."

"We've got to be missing something." Cameron was concentrating on the screen so intensely that Chase worried her head might explode.

"We'll just have to go over it again tomorrow." Chase glanced at this watch.

Cameron hesitated then sighed. "If she has a coronary during the night, I'm blaming you."

The doctors took Izzy off the machine and wheeled her back to her room.

"So, what's up, docs?" she asked, tossing a nervous grin their way.

Cameron smiled at the pun. "We've got to do some more tests tomorrow. Tonight, you should try and sleep."

"Sleep?" Izzy laughed. "I don't sleep very well, Dr. Cameron."

"How many hours a night?"

"Five on a good one."

Chase raised an eyebrow. He wondered at the amount of energy the girl had and the amount of sleep she got. They were definitely not proportional.

'Another piece of the puzzle.'

Xxx

"She's perfectly fine. Send her home."

House sat in the conference room the next day with the team. It was nearing lunchtime and all he cared about was food.

"She sleeps five hours a night," Cameron protested. "I think there's something wrong."

"There is," House replied. "It's called insomnia. Write her a prescription and send her on her merry way."

"What about the short term memory lost? The distraction?" Cameron persisted.

"She's a teenager," Chase interjected. "Plus it could be a side affect of the insomnia. And as for the chest pain, it's not that strange of an occurrence in teens. It's just from stress. She seems to have plenty of that."

"Her cold?" Cameron would not let it go so easily.

"Because her immune system isn't working right due to her insomnia," Foreman stated.

"Fainting in the clinic?"

"Exhaustion." House was irritated now. "Let it go, Cameron. There's nothing wrong-"

"Dr. House!" A nurse interrupted them by running in, feathers all ruffled. "Your patient is seizing."

House glanced at Cameron, who, although worried, sent him an "I-told-you-so" look.

"Oh, fine," he said finally. "You win. For now.

xxx

Izzy's seizing had finished by the time Foreman, Cameron and Chase reached her room. She looked dazed and scared. A nurse held her hand, attempting to calm her down. Her father stood on the other side of the bed, stroking her hair.

When Izzy's eyes landed on the doctors, she took a deep breath and attempted to look okay. Chase noted a kind of shame in her eyes, as if them seeing her vulnerable was something bad.

"Heartbeat and BP are normal now," the nurse informed them. Izzy had released her hand and was now quietly telling her father that she was fine.

"It came out of nowhere," Mr. Milano said. "She just got this weird expression and started twitching. Then she got really tense." He shook his head and looked again at his daughter.

At that moment, Izzy's mother rushed through the door. "Is Izzy okay?" she demanded. She swept to the spot the nurse had occupied a minute before and took Izzy's hand.

Izzy shook her off. "I'm fine, mom."

"They told me you had a seizure, you're not fine," her mother argued.

"If you know already, why bother to ask?" Izzy snapped.

"Don't speak to me that way." Her mother sat straight up in her chair, trying to command the situation.

Foreman stepped in before a fight could begin. "Right now, Izzy needs to rest. I suggest that you and Izzy's father leave the room."

"I'm not leaving her alone," Mr. Milano announced.

"Myself and Doctors Foreman and Chase will be here," Cameron assured him.

The man sighed and left the room after a swift kiss on Izzy's forehead. Ms. Wright (the name she had given the doctors) touched Izzy's face. "I'm sorry," she said before leaving.

Izzy exhaled. "God."

"How are you feeling?" Cameron asked.

"A little shaky, but okay, I guess." Izzy leaned toward her. "Is it always that scary?" she whispered so that only Cameron could hear her.

"You're going to be fine," Cameron replied, unsure of exactly how to answer the question. She didn't want to tell the girl that, yes, it was probably always that scary.

Chase opened his mouth to say something, but Izzy's monitor began to beep wildly. Izzy's eyes lost focus, her skin paled and her body became rigid, twitching ever so slightly.

"She seizing again," Cameron cried over the loud beeping.

But before any action could be made to stop it, the seizing quit on it's own. Izzy relaxed against the pillows once more, this time making no attempt to seem brave. Tears began streaming down her face as she mumbled, "Lena. Oh, God. I swear I saw her, clear as day. Oh, God. Lena." Her tears progressed into sobs as she choked out what sounded like, "My fault."

Cameron took Izzy's hand. "It's okay. Calm down." Cameron tried to soothe the girl. "Go get her parents," she told Foreman. Then she turned back to soothing Izzy as Chase prepared a sedative. He was surprised at Cameron's apparent mothering skills, but didn't dwell on it. Cameron was a regular bleeding heart; mothering was part of the package.

Cameron succeeded in calming Izzy, and Mr. Milano came in not a second later. His ex-wife lingered in the doorway, unsure of what to do.

Izzy now put on the façade for her parents. "I'm fine, I'm okay," she told her father.

Chase took his chance to speak with Izzy's mother as she slipped out the door.

"Ms. Wright?" he called after her. "I'd like to ask you something."

The woman turned and gave a weak smile. "Please, call me Jacquelyn." She looked tired and beaten down.

"Let's sit down," Chase suggested before he began. They did. "Izzy mentioned someone named Lena…"

"Lena?" Ms. Wright closed her eyes. "When?"

"After the second seizure."

The woman opened her eyes. "Lena was her sister," she began slowly. "Isabel was born a twin. But her twin, we named her Angelica, died shortly after she was born. It was hard on Austin and I. That's when our marriage started to deteriorate. We wanted to save it, though. So we had another child about a year later. That was Lena. But Lena died a year ago. Isabel took to blocking most of the memories." Ms. Wright sniffled. "I'm going to bring Austin some lunch," she said, standing. "He won't leave Isabel's room for anything now. I'll have to make a few calls, too."

Before Chase was able to reply, Ms. Wright took her leave. Chase looked down at his hands, pondering this new piece of information. Izzy said she had seen her, so it was reasonable to deduce that she was hallucinating, too.

He hurried back to Izzy's room to discuss this with the rest of the team. And in the back of his mind, curiosity began to creep in.


	4. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**THIS IS AN AUTHOR'S NOTE, NOT A CHAPTER.**

I wrote out the next few chapters of this story then began typing them.

Unfortunately, I realized that I'm getting nowhere.

I'm not sure exactly what the solution is. I may have to completely redo the story or just work through it, but the first option is looking like the most likely one. I hate to do that to my readers, and I'm **really** sorry to those of you who are interested in this story.

I also hate to not complete this version of the story, but the version I'm working on right now is more thought-through. It may even be better!  If I do decided to replace it, the new version is called Famous Last Words. So be on the look out for this, or an update, depending on what I decide is best.

Thanks so much for your patience and understanding!

Alessa


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